Summer in the Mountains

We were privileged to spend a week in the mountains with Nonie and Grande last month. What a delightful relief from the 90+ degree weather! Beautiful scenery, as always. 

Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Sprague lake, RMNP

Sprague Lake

Paul trying to get some fly fishing in while the "ducklings" look on.

Will and Ella try their hand at an improvised fishing pole.

Exploring a mountain stream.

Grand Lake

The kids had a blast in Grand Lake. The beach was a popular place, despite the frigid mountain water. It felt like a tub of ice water! Nonetheless, Nick and Ella loved playing in the lake and didn't even wait until we had towels ready for them to dive in.  Will was another story. The poor guy fell in head first at the start and was chilled to the bone for the rest of the day. He spent the afternoon shivering under blankets and any sweatshirt available while the big kids swam.

Bear Lake

Hiking the Waterfall

Nick's 8 year Photo

Nick's school photos were a bust this year too. The first round in the fall were mug shot worthy. The second round in the spring had the most horrible background imaginable with no options for changing to something more palatable. I refused to spend $30 on pictures that I hated.

The biggest impediment to taking pictures of Nick, is Nick himself. He HATES being photographed. I think the pre-teen drama has struck early with him. He finds it mortifying to have to wear any shirt with a collar, and forget about a tie. Apparently he is the only boy on the planet to have younger siblings and parents and doesn't want any of his peers to know his shame. It is a violation of the boy code to pose for photos and definitely taboo to smile for them. Haircuts are evil. Hairbrushes and combs are evil. He can't understand why we won't let him have a cell phone. There is no need for long sleeves, coats, or sweaters. Ever. And wearing a hooded sweatshirt is a necessity of daily life. * Sigh* I'm not sure that I will survive this particular phase with my sanity intact.

Anyway, after a lot of cajoling, begging, pleading, and a little bribery; we have some photos of Nick at 8 1/2 years.

Such a handsome guy! I might be slightly prejudice. I have to enjoy these pics as they are probably the last we will have for at least another year. Paul suggested we just start photographing him in his sleep. That's a thought......

Ella's 6 Year Photo

We had phenomenally bad luck with school pictures this year. Round one from the fall were dreadful. Think mug shots, but less flattering. (How hard is it to mess of pictures of little kids?! They always look good I think)

Round two was this spring and Ella was sick with Strep Throat. The retakes were hideous. Someone combed her hair straight down in front of her face. She doesn't have bangs. Think Cousin It. Ugh.

Anyway, I always update frames with their latest school photos. Except we don't have one. So here is my attempt. I am accepting suggestions/opinions/requests as to which version gets sent out to family :)

Thanks!

Yes, Eleanor lost a tooth last month! She was soooo excited! It fell out at school during lunch time. Gotta love the power of apples! The dentist had told her it was loose back in November so she was waiting quite awhile. The Tooth Fairy brought her $5 for her first tooth. Inflation. I remember getting a quarter. We have discussed that subsequent teeth are not quite as valuable. I miss her perfect little baby tooth smile. But she is still super cute with the little gap in the front.

Happy Birthday Nonie!
Hope it was a good one :)

Happy Mother's Day

A very happy Mother's Day from one Mom to all of the others.
Hope your day is restful and full of love!

My crazy crew.

And the "furry" baby too.

xoxo

Happy Easter!!

A blessed Easter to all!

The bunny came to our house. Hope he visited yours as well!

Yes, our boys are in fact shoveling candy into their mouths without bothering to either unwrap or separate them. We are very proud.

Happy 4th Birthday to our Will!!

Happy Birthday to "baby" Will!!

Hard to imagine our boy is 4 already. The years have passed in a blink of the eye. He has grown into a wonderful little boy. We all absolutely adore him! Cute as a button, but that's a given! He is tiny but fast, inquisitive, sweet and caring, and definitely all boy. He goes to preschool every morning and does very well there we are proud to report. Can ride a scooter, loves his new bike, writes his name, knows all the letters and their sounds, gets dressed independently every day (may not be my choice of outfits, but not worth the battle), is absolutely fearless on the playground, and has lots of friends at school. Happy Birthday little buddy! We love you!
xoxo

One dinosaur cake as requested. It is supposed to look like the dinosaur from Toy Story 3, but a life sized replica was not possible for this Mom. Luckily Will seemed quite thrilled with this representation.

The big boy on his new bike. I give it a month before he is racing around with training wheels off after his siblings. Let's see if I'm right.....